NEW YORK — While demonstrating the remarkable photographic capabilities built inside its new Lumia 1020 Windows smartphone that will be hitting AT&T stores exclusively in the U.S. on July 26, Nokia showed how you could zoom in on a picture of a haystack and literally find the needle hiding inside. The eye of the needle in the picture was that sharp.
Of course, finding a needle in a haystack is an apt metaphor for Nokia, the struggling Finnish cellphone giant that is trying to regain a footing in the U.S. market by selling Windows phones. But if the Lumia 1020 is any indication—and I have to add the caveat that I haven't actually tested the phone yet—Nokia may have something special, at least for avid photographers who want a higher-pedigree camera phone.
AT&T is charging $299.99 for the device, with the customary two-year contract.
The latest Lumia boasts a second-generation 41 megapixel-image sensor, Zeiss optics, xenon flash, manual shutter, and other photographic smarts. And if you dig into higher end settings—changing the white balance, ISO, and more—you can see the impact that making those changes will have on the final image.
Two images are automatically captured each time you shoot—so in addition to the ultra-high resolution picture that is captured when you snap the shutter (either 34 or 38 megapixel, depending on whether it's in the 16 by 9 or 4 by 3 format), you also get a 5-megapixel image that can be more easily shared online.
What's more, you can zoom in on that high-resolution image after the fact to effectively create a whole a new 5-megapixel from a completely different vantage point. Nokia says you can zoom in on an image up to three times, with no visible loss of clarity. That was certainly the case with the images that were on display, though I'm anxious to try this out myself.
Nokia makes impressive claims for video too.
The phone has a 4.5-inch Super Amoled display, protected by the latest version of Gorilla Glass.
As Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said during the launch event at a New York City pier, the phone represents the "introduction of the next chapter in smart phone photography." That's marketing-speak for sure, but I can report that most of the other attendees at the device's unveiling seemed as eager as I am to put the 1020 through its paces.
Despite my initial enthusiasm there are questions. The phone comes with 32GB of internal memory but no card slot for expanding that memory. And anyone who takes an abundance of pictures—and isn't that the person who will be attracted to this device?—will have to factor that in when they're out and about shooting. Nokia says that although the highest resolution pictures will up to 38-megapixels in quality, but only eat a modest 8-megabytes in size. We'll see. Meanwhile for a limited time, it does come with 50GB of free online storage through the digital AT&T Locker.
Of course, the even bigger question is what impact the Lumia 1020 will have on Nokia's ultimate success?
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